What does it mean to be patient?

In this “now” world we live in, where convenience at a finger tip is the norm, where faster turnaround time is demanded, where “magic pills” and unobtainable weight loss goals are expected. The word patient itself seems extremely foreign now a days.

So what does it truly mean to be patient?

I myself struggle with this word from time to time. Heck, the reason why I am writing about it is because I even struggled with it today. And what I found interesting was both an article in my email box AND a meme on social media referred to patience…a sign perhaps!

My struggle with patience is more business related rather than health. I mean, I am awesome at creating health and fitness goals and knowing how to measure and stay on track, why can’t I do the same for business? Well I took a real hard look at it today and even re-read some notes I had from previous books and decided to drill in on what was wrong and how to correct it. If you are feeling impatient with whatever is going on in your life, please continue to read.

Definition

The very definition of patience is:

“able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.”

Easier said than done, especially when we have put a deadline on ourselves. We put so much pressure on doing so many things and expecting a quick return but that is not how life works. Life is funny that way.

Figuring out the why

Just like knowing your what your why is as to keep you going, you also have to know your why that is holding you back. Why do you need that job now? Why do you need to lose 20 lbs by next month? Why do we need to find a “perfect” mate by a certain age? What unreasonable expectation are we putting on ourselves. A personal story I have on this is that my husband and I were trying to conceive a few years ago. I was 37 and he was 44. I was so stressed out about it as I kept saying, we need to have a baby and before I turn 40. Well, what was really happening was I was putting pressure on having a baby before we really wanted because of a certain “age”. When a realized that, we stopped and have recently decided to adopt in the next couple years. Point is, I figured out my why as my patience dwindled. Same thing with my business, why am I expecting a quick turnaround on success?? Doesn’t happen, not even to the billionaires of today. It takes years to become an overnight success.

Realistic goals

The best thing you can do is to make realistic and obtainable goals. Goal setting isn’t just writing down a few things for the year/month/week/day, it’s visioning what you truly want to accomplish and actual actionable steps to take to achieve the goals. Put it on a calendar or what I do is have a reminder set on my phone to pop up if I have achieved the step, if not, that is the time to re-look at why not and adjust. Realistic goal setting are baby steps to success. Measurable steps that when you crush them, you can’t wait to crush even more goals. This is where the patience comes in play. Your vision is your why, your goals are your how. With each goal we need to mentally prepare ourselves to understand that sometimes the goal cannot be met at that time, maybe a personal set back, maybe something took longer than expected. Whatever the reason, know that the task/goal will be completed.

Organize a schedule

Along with your goals, set up a daily schedule of what you will be doing and stick to it. I tend to get overwhelmed as I have a lot on my plate and I freak out and do nothing, when this starts to happen I go back to my scheduled tasks and stay on track. Now there are times that you just can’t get everything done all in one day, again shit happens that is not in your control. Don’t freak out, just adjust the schedule for the next day. Again this is a process we should all enjoy. Scheduling helps keep you on track, but is not the 10 commandments. As long as you know your whys, your hows become easier.

Trust the process

Many people give up when they haven’t received their reward when they thought they should. It is when you feel like giving up when it happens. Point is, never give up. There is a reason of the time and trusting the process and having fun along the way will make the reward so much better.

Let go and take your time

Say what??? Yes, what we can’t control shouldn’t stress us out. We can’t rush time and why would we need to? As I am all about meditation and zen, it is at this stage we need to stop, take a deep breath and let go! Patience is hard and it takes practice. Patience is really about having the inner strength to stick to your guns, face your fears, repeatedly let go of internal expectations, and have trust that it will all work out in the end.

What are you impatient about and why? Please comment below and let me know your thoughts.

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If you use a link from my posts to sign up and eventually purchase, I do get a small commission for referring you. I am also an Amazon affiliate, which means that I earn commissions by linking to Amazon products on this blog. That said, I only recommend products and businesses that I use myself and believe in.